Ask HN: How to find what I am really good at? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: How to find what I am really good at?

#11

Post by kleiba » Tue, Oct 04, 2022, 8:57 AM UTC

When writing my thesis, I was very prone to procrastination. Many times, I found that some "great idea" (tm) popped into my head, and I would be all to happy to drop everything to start working on that. I think it's in no small parts because starting something new is exciting, while continuing something you've already worked on for a long time has often long lost that early magic.

Needless to say that these ideas usually didn't lead to anything and in a lot of cases where replaced by "the next great idea", leaving me with tons of projects that had received as much attention as a single day in some cases. But ostensibly, that didn't feel like a problem, because by then I had already moved on to something else that excited me... for a little while.

What never happened was actual progress, neither in any of these "project" not on my "thesis" which I was always more than happy to put on the back burner.

But then (much too late), I realized the pattern I had falled prone to. What helped me in the end to finish my thesis was the following: instead of starting any new project head of heels the day it popped into my head, I started writing new ideas down on "for later"-list. I really wanted to finish my thesis, and although I found it very hard at first, I forced myself to not implement anything new until I after I submitted.

When I was finally done with my thesis, I had probably somewhere between 20 and 30 items on my list, and I was excited to be finally "allowed" to go back to them.

Well, as you may have guessed, it turned out that none of these "great ideas" interested me any more by then. So I never actually picked any of them up. But had I started on any of them right away as it had been my earlier habit, countless hours would have been burned, and I would inevitably reached the same lack of interest.

So, my recommendation is not to jump from project to project too quickly. The problem is not dropping a stalled effort, but too eagerly starting something new. The biggest project had been my thesis all this time, and I really had to learn to stick it out.

And I'm glad I did it.

Re: Ask HN: How to find what I am really good at?

#12

Post by BaudouinVH » Tue, Oct 04, 2022, 9:07 AM UTC

1) "Jumping from one project to another. How do you stay focused ?" : that screams ADHD to me (not a doctor, not a shrink). Full disclosure : I have ADHD.

2) what activity bores you the least ? could it be turned into a job ?

3) filling in an ikigai diagram ( https://becomingbetter.org/ikigai/ ) could help you find some professional compass

Re: Ask HN: How to find what I am really good at?

#13

Post by Arisaka1 » Tue, Oct 04, 2022, 9:09 AM UTC

jstx1 wrote: post #5

andrewstuart wrote: post #2

You don't "find what you are good at" - that is backwards. Instead, you do what you are interested in, and initially you are not good at it, and with enough time, effort, working at learning and practicing, you will become good at it.

It boils down to the same thing though - OP is struggling to focus on a thing for a long period of time because they don't find stuff interesting enough. You can rephrase it to "how do I find something interesting enough to put a lot of time and effort in".

>it boils down to the same thing though

OP is not asking "how do I find something that grabs my attention", but rather "how do I find something I'm naturally really good at". The implication is that what grabs my attention and holds it tight is out of necessity what I am naturally talented.

Sorry for questioning such a status quo assumption but I don't see how my day 1 or week 1 experience doing anything is an indicator that I'll be enjoying it in year 1 and many years later, or that it's even worth investing time to improve it. It's a nice place to start the exploration, so I'll give it that.

Re: Ask HN: How to find what I am really good at?

#14

Post by going_ham » Tue, Oct 04, 2022, 9:17 AM UTC

I have one suggestion! Try to find one thing you are deeply interested since your childhood. It means that you have some subconscious goals you want to achieve. Now invest all your time on it, no matter how hard it is. It will be very rewarding at the end.

If you are working on software and your interest lies in physical world, start building hardware/software for it. You will suck at it. It won't make an impact. But it will free you from your lack of focus. It is just about chasing dreams! No one is stopping you from doing that. Also, take job as job and not as passion. The whole idea, if you work on what you love, then you never have to work in your life is bullshit. Once you start working on what you love, it is still work. Only difference is motivation. You will get motivation if you follow your deep desires.

Also make promise to yourself to not abandon this one desire in middle of the way. And stick with it to the end. Whatever pops up in your head after you decide on it, add it to your someday list. And keep pursuing things slowly while you are enjoying. Never forget to enjoy what you are doing!

Re: Ask HN: How to find what I am really good at?

#15

Post by robertwt7 » Tue, Oct 04, 2022, 9:19 AM UTC

I think you need to find what motivates you. I am in the same way right now, working on personal project is fun, but when it becomes a career it gets boring after a while. However I keep pushing to pay the bills, mortgage, and of course twice a year of traveling. Find a good company to work with that gives you least stress, my current one keeps working a bit more fun at least

Re: Ask HN: How to find what I am really good at?

#16

Post by jstx1 » Tue, Oct 04, 2022, 9:20 AM UTC

Arisaka1 wrote: post #13

jstx1 wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It boils down to the same thing though - OP is struggling to focus on a thing for a long period of time because they don't find stuff interesting enough. You can rephrase it to "how do I find something interesting enough to put a lot of time and effort in".

>it boils down to the same thing though OP is not asking "how do I find something that grabs my attention", but rather "how do I find something I'm naturally really good at". The implication is that what grabs my attention and holds it tight is out of necessity what I am naturally talented. Sorry for questioning such a status quo assumption but I don't see how my day 1 or week 1 experience doing anything is an indica…

> The implication is that what grabs my attention and holds it tight is out of necessity what I am naturally talented.

No, it's follow up from the grandparent comment:

1. OP: how do I find something that I'm good at?

2. GP comment: find something that interests you and put in a lot of time, effort and practice.

The natural follow up question is to ask "how do I find something that interests me enough so I can put in effort and practice over a prolonged period of time?". And this is something that OP is struggling with:

> Changed several jobs, and in my hobbies, I am jumping from one project to another. How do you stay focused?

This is what I meant when I wrote that it boils down to the same thing - if you assume that the GP comment is giving good advice, you take that advice one step further and you end up back at a question that OP is already asking.

Re: Ask HN: How to find what I am really good at?

#17

Post by globular-toast » Tue, Oct 04, 2022, 9:27 AM UTC

kleiba wrote: post #6

andrewstuart wrote: post #2

You don't "find what you are good at" - that is backwards. Instead, you do what you are interested in, and initially you are not good at it, and with enough time, effort, working at learning and practicing, you will become good at it.

Seconded. "Practice makes perfect" is an aphorism as old as the ages. I would like to add though that "being good at something" is not the path to enlightenment. Try "something you enjoy" instead, and you may be happier in the end. Given an initial epsilon of talent, the above adage posits that you will get better at it, and in my experience, motivation to do a task is central predictor of how good you will become at…

I disagree with "practice makes perfect". You can keep practising something badly and you'll only get better at doing it badly. This can be seen everywhere. Second language speakers who have no interest in studying the language will continue to sound very non-native after decades of daily use. Musicians build bad habits that hold them back and take a long time to "unlearn". Programmers continue using the same old tools and techniques they learnt when they were students. You don't just get better by practising.

Re: Ask HN: How to find what I am really good at?

#18

Post by pietschy » Tue, Oct 04, 2022, 9:27 AM UTC

I found the gallup strength finder test very helpful when trying to find a role that was a good fit for me.

https://www.gallup.com/cliftonstrengths/

Edit: It's a paid service the product links are here:

https://www.gallup.com/cliftonstrengths/en/253868/popular-cl...

I've bought both, but 99% of the value for me was in the top 5.

Re: Ask HN: How to find what I am really good at?

#19

Post by tempxyz » Tue, Oct 04, 2022, 9:30 AM UTC

globular-toast wrote: post #17

kleiba wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Seconded. "Practice makes perfect" is an aphorism as old as the ages. I would like to add though that "being good at something" is not the path to enlightenment. Try "something you enjoy" instead, and you may be happier in the end. Given an initial epsilon of talent, the above adage posits that you will get better at it, and in my experience, motivation to do a task is central predictor of how good you will become at…

I disagree with "practice makes perfect". You can keep practising something badly and you'll only get better at doing it badly. This can be seen everywhere. Second language speakers who have no interest in studying the language will continue to sound very non-native after decades of daily use. Musicians build bad habits that hold them back and take a long time to "unlearn". Programmers continue using the same old too…

This is where you stop doing mindlessly and analyze.

Re: Ask HN: How to find what I am really good at?

#20

Post by beardyw » Tue, Oct 04, 2022, 9:36 AM UTC

> How do you find 1 thing you are really good at and stick with it?

Perhaps someone could have helped Leonardo Da Vinci (painter, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, architect) with that. Maybe already you know a lot of stuff which will one day come together. Being a specialist is great if your specialisation has legs, not so otherwise.